Well, here we are. The final two of eleven albums of 2010 that made Second Drawer Up's cockles warm up. Here's number two (though once again I'd like to remind everybody that this list has in no way been in any preferential order) -- an outstanding surprise released by a band who I was beginning to believe wouldn't release anything else at all...
2.
MASSIVE ATTACK
HELIGOLAND
Seven years. Seven long, long years. That's how long ago Robert "3D" Del Naja and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall, better known as Bristol duo Massive Attack, released their fourth official album 100th Window. Seven years. I really was under the impression that they'd laid Massive Attack to rest; content to noodle about here and there with other musicians and eschew the limelight.
But they never sat on their laurels, did Massive Attack. They were busy as bees, working on film soundtracks, engaging in fundraisers for the benefit of Palestinian children, and curating festivals in London. Del Naja and Marshall were also taking their time, getting together from time to time and writing bits and pieces of what was then only known in blogs and rumours as "LP5". But it was when they went to hang in Damon Albarn's (of Gorillaz) studio that music began to flow -- enough for an EP they released in 2009 called Splitting The Atom. And after that, it all came together and coalesced into a finished "LP5" -- featuring three of the songs off of Splitting The Atom, "Splitting The Atom," "Pray For Rain," and "Psyche." The LP was subsequently titled Heligoland, after the German archipelago where Werner Heisenberg first formulated the idea of quantum mechanics in the 1920s. (You see, Heisenberg suffered from tremendous allergies. Heligoland doesn't have any trees or pollen to speak of, so he felt comfortable there.) Don't know if that's the particular reason Del Naja chose Heligoland, but that's my favourite guess.
So! Was the wait worth it? Fuck yeah, it was worth it. What I've always liked about Massive Attack has been their intense and unwavering feel for experimentation. From their 1991 debut Blue Lines to '94s Protection to '98s immense (and my favourite, I must add) Mezzanine there's always been a deliriously feel of immersion in the listening experience. And yeah, I mean it when I say "experience". 'Cos that's what listening to a Massive Attack record is like -- it feels as if you're in another place and time while those squelchy beats, string arrangements, and numbing basslines wash over you. Heligoland is no different. Written with a host of other musicians and featuring vocal work by Horace Andy, Hope Sandoval, Tunde Adebimpe, Guy Garvey, and Damon Albarn his own bad self, this record is like a treasure trove of musical wonder, coming at you from every direction. There's the gleeful menace and atmospherics of "Girl I Love You," complete with Andy's powerful voice backing shit up. "Rush Minute," one of the few tracks featuring Del Naja's scratchy and moody voice, slowly builds in intensity over staccato drums and guitar and an unrelenting beat. The beautiful Hope Sandoval's breathy vocals preside over "Paradise Circus." And then, closing shit out, there's the demented animosity of "United Snakes," which seems to evoke a nightmarish world of intrigue and dishonesty that exists ... underwater. It's all so awesome and thrilling; and I'm happy that Massive Attack is back -- in a huge way. Yo, check it.
Here's "Girl I Love You" from the album. Brilliant!
But they never sat on their laurels, did Massive Attack. They were busy as bees, working on film soundtracks, engaging in fundraisers for the benefit of Palestinian children, and curating festivals in London. Del Naja and Marshall were also taking their time, getting together from time to time and writing bits and pieces of what was then only known in blogs and rumours as "LP5". But it was when they went to hang in Damon Albarn's (of Gorillaz) studio that music began to flow -- enough for an EP they released in 2009 called Splitting The Atom. And after that, it all came together and coalesced into a finished "LP5" -- featuring three of the songs off of Splitting The Atom, "Splitting The Atom," "Pray For Rain," and "Psyche." The LP was subsequently titled Heligoland, after the German archipelago where Werner Heisenberg first formulated the idea of quantum mechanics in the 1920s. (You see, Heisenberg suffered from tremendous allergies. Heligoland doesn't have any trees or pollen to speak of, so he felt comfortable there.) Don't know if that's the particular reason Del Naja chose Heligoland, but that's my favourite guess.
So! Was the wait worth it? Fuck yeah, it was worth it. What I've always liked about Massive Attack has been their intense and unwavering feel for experimentation. From their 1991 debut Blue Lines to '94s Protection to '98s immense (and my favourite, I must add) Mezzanine there's always been a deliriously feel of immersion in the listening experience. And yeah, I mean it when I say "experience". 'Cos that's what listening to a Massive Attack record is like -- it feels as if you're in another place and time while those squelchy beats, string arrangements, and numbing basslines wash over you. Heligoland is no different. Written with a host of other musicians and featuring vocal work by Horace Andy, Hope Sandoval, Tunde Adebimpe, Guy Garvey, and Damon Albarn his own bad self, this record is like a treasure trove of musical wonder, coming at you from every direction. There's the gleeful menace and atmospherics of "Girl I Love You," complete with Andy's powerful voice backing shit up. "Rush Minute," one of the few tracks featuring Del Naja's scratchy and moody voice, slowly builds in intensity over staccato drums and guitar and an unrelenting beat. The beautiful Hope Sandoval's breathy vocals preside over "Paradise Circus." And then, closing shit out, there's the demented animosity of "United Snakes," which seems to evoke a nightmarish world of intrigue and dishonesty that exists ... underwater. It's all so awesome and thrilling; and I'm happy that Massive Attack is back -- in a huge way. Yo, check it.
Here's "Girl I Love You" from the album. Brilliant!
And here's a link for the video "Paradise Circus." It's amazingly pornographic and is unsuitable for work! I mean it -- it's truly NSFW and if you click to the right link, the video will start immediately. Two words: Seventies Porn. CLICK HERE.
No comments:
Post a Comment